mortemscintilla | Memes // PSLs

[ Shit. Vans streak from behind the heavy equipment, flanking the car. Arc lights blaze into the darkness. ]

Ugh --!

[ Hand up to shield his eyes, Hei swerves to miss the truck, slamming the brakes. The car skids, jolting against a caterpillar, throwing him forward. His head whacks the steering wheel. Blinking the red spots from his eyes, Hei jerks a glance at his surroundings. Ambush. Should have known. He doesn't know which agency these people belong to. Doesn't care. He needs to get away, forcing the occupants of the van to chase him, lead them into a choke point and eliminate them one by one. ]

[ All before they get to that damned girl. ]

[ Slipping his mask on, he opens the door and leaps out. Dodging the caterpillar, racing to avoid the spotlight, blinding his attackers with a brilliant flash of electricity that fizzes from his free hand. He hears shouts and doors banging open in the vans. A car skids to a stop on the road. Footsteps crunch on cold gravel. The spotlights track him, chasing his fast shadow across a snowy stretch of fields. ]

[ In the murky woods beyond the spotlights, Hei vanishes. ]

[Korra hears explosions behind her. Good. Maybe that asshole creep is dead. It'd definitely make her life easier. (Her father would be horrified to hear her think like that, being a man as pro-life as they come, but the fact is, her kidnapper can't chase her if he's dead.

She's not about to count on it though.

A few hundred feet into the forest, she finds a tree and climbs as high as she can into the safety of its branches. She can't keep running with Naga trussed up like this. She's ridiculously strong, but she has limits. She carefully burns off the cords around Naga's feet and then strokes her muzzle.]

Come on, Naga. Wake up. [If she’s dead, I’ll kill him myself. Except thoughts like that wouldn't help her friend.

Korra trembles a little and forces herself to take a deep breath.]

Spirits help me. [She closes her eyes and lays her hand across Naga's forehead, trying to get a sense of the dog's energy. An elder had once mentioned something about how the body's energies could be used to heal; she wishes she had listened more. She doesn't know what she's doing; this will never work; it was a dumb ide-

There. She can see the blockage, clear as moonlight. Little threads of energy caught in a knot. It's the easiest thing in the world to untangle.

And just like that, Naga whimpers and opens her eyes. Korra smiles and hugs her close.] Shhhhhh, good girl. We're going to be fine.

[ When the pieces fall in place, it isn't complicated. ]

[ Hei's imagined the various scenarios, looked ahead and backward, assumed the most logical tactics, and understood what's going on. He's been set up. Not by a third party, but by the Syndicate itself. It's not a tradeaway. Not a double-cross. It's a test. Each Syndicate assignment is like evolution. And in evolution, Mother Nature throws everything she's got at a species. If it makes it, she knows that species is fit to live. If not, then it dies out, and no harm done. That's what the Syndicate is like. They want to know who's fit enough, smart enough, to be allowed to work for higher-level ops with them. ]

[ In assignments like these, they weed out the survivors, and kill the rest without having to waste their own bullets. ]

[ With that in mind, Hei sprints through the woods. Trees flash around him. No enemies in view yet -- until he sees a trio fanning out at his right flank. Moonlight glints off their Uzis. Behind him, he hears shouts, glimpses the glow of torches. The abrupt roar of gunfire is amplified by the ambience of the forest. Bullets wallop against tree trunks, flinging splinters. But already Hei has whipped out a wire. It snags a branch high above, and the gears on his belt whir. Charging harder, he's airborne, swooping through the periphery. Homing in on on the trio, he lunges in like a shadow. The nearest man glances up, too late, unprepared for the heel of Hei's palm slamming against his ribcage. The electric shock is brief but dazzling. As the man groans, slumping, Hei tugs the Uzi from his grasp and swings to spray the other two agents down. ]

[ Blood splatters everywhere. But Hei doesn't wait. No time. He leaps across the men he's dropped, then races in a zigzag pattern through the trees, snagging his wires along the trunks, weaving a pattern like a spider with a web. When he's finished, he spins again with the Uzi, firing a warning volley at the men in pursuit, so they'll charge in his direction. Straight into his nest of wires -- alive with lethal volts of electricity. It happens quickly. Shouts. Torches. Footfalls. Men collide with the wire-mesh. The sound that follows is like a magnified bug zapper, a horde of insects smashing into it. Zzzzzzzzzt. Brilliant blue light. Leaping sparks. The sounds of convulsive screams and the stench of burnt flesh and ozone fill the air. ]

[ From there, it's easy to eliminate the stragglers. Now all that's left is finding the girl. ]

[Korra hears the screams. He’s not dead.

Well fuck.

She runs through her options with ruthless efficiency. She can't stay here -- he's not just going to give up on her, and the best defense is a good offense. Ideally she would move through the trees, but Naga can't, and she can't just leave Naga up here. Too much could happen and being up here would only hamper the dog's ability to defend herself.

Carefully, silently, she helps the dog down the tree. She creates a small cave in the ground, easily covered and completely natural looking.]

Stay. I'll come back for you.

[She takes off at a run, easily using her ability to cover her tracks behind her. If she's where she thinks she is -- and the humming in her bones says yes, then there will be a river not far. Ample water and earth and room to move; everything she needs.]

[ It takes as little as fifteen minutes to kill the survivors. ]

[ Clouds drift across the moon. The night air is chill and crisp in contrast to Hei's burning sweat. Around him, shadows flicker, the forest a deep green, like a cloud before a tornado. But his movements are silent, relentless. The terrain, despite its superficial differences, reminds him of the jungles in South America. The spongy loam absorbs his footfalls. The dense foliage conceals his flashing shape. On a hand-held scanner, he watches the red Korra-blip move through the forest. The area is bisected by a river. She seems to be headed in that direction. Adrenaline surges. Hei's eyes narrow. You won't get away that easy. ]

[ Nor will she like it when he finds her. It's been a hell of a day and he can feel that familiar, crazy urge to unload on someone. If this stupid girl wants to give him a reason, too bad for her. ]

[ The path of frost, soil and sparse underbrush leads higher. Through a break in the trees, the encroaching darkness flattens the moonlight into a thin white artery between the thick trunks. The river stretches below a rocky outcrop, shimmering. Alert, controlling his breathing until it's a steady in-out, Hei scans the area. Korra can't be far. It's difficult to run while carrying a big sedated dog. More than likely, she's hidden the animal somewhere. (Of course, the fact that she'd risk taking the pet along, at all, pings off his brain in a white-hot ricochet. It's not very Contractorly.) ]

[ But he's not here to puzzle her out. Just deliver her to the Syndicate -- relatively undamaged. ]

[She doesn't have much of a lead on him, but it's enough. She's at the bend of the river, perched on top of a giant boulder, but down just low enough to hide herself behind it.

Just a little closer to the water and she can get him.]

[ Hei's learnt never to ignore his inner-rader. Right now, it's going haywire. His scanner shows him the girl is nearby. But she's staying still -- which only means she's planning something. When it comes to versatility of powers, she has the advantage. But in tactics, she's still an amateur. He has a lock on her location, after all. Depending on his mood, Hei may attack her -- or retreat, until she's lowered her defenses so he gets a drop on her. But right now, he's content merely to flow from spot to spot. Determined to surprise her, preventing battles rather than fighting them. A different approach than had characterized his younger days in Heaven's War, yes, when his style had more to do with aggression and bravado than it did with neatness and efficiency. Since then, however, he's learnt that it doesn't matter what size, skills, or other advantages your enemy has if you don't give him a chance to deploy any of it. ]

[ And he's not planning to give her any chance at all. ]

[ Silently, he makes two circuits, the first wide, the second more direct, dropping wired explosives in a strategic star-shape around the periphery. Then he approaches Korra's location, edging closer to the forest than the water-line. Around him: egg-sized stones, rounded smooth with each tide. Dark skeins of mold. Blackness of water leeching into the sky. Moonlight glitters in rhythm to the water's movements. ]

[He's not heading for the water. Why isn't he heading for the water? She curses under her breath. She'll have to use earth. She'd hoped to use water -- it's pliant but powerful, easy to control. Fire has power, but it would only give away her location. (If only she knew that was already compromised.) Air was poor for offense. Earth was powerful & stubborn, but she could attack him without giving away her position.

A few gestures and the earth rumbles beneath Hei's feet, the only warning he gets before he's bombarded with giant rocks.]

[ NC-108's dossiers detailed her ease in manipulating the four elements. In the dark and organized space of his mind, Hei is ticking off the possibilities. An air-blast? Ineffectual. Fire? Too bombastic; too great a risk of being discovered. He's too far from the river for her to attack him with a wave. ]

[ That means ... ]

[ The ground vibrates beneath his feet. Pebbles rattle. A hot-cold surge of adrenaline rushes through his veins, right before a hailstorm of rocks collide around him. He hears the relentless staccato bursts as they slam all around him. One whacks against his shoulder, shooting a strobelike flare of pain behind his eyes. A second whooshes past his skull, coming dangerously close to denting it. Instinct takes over. Pirouetting, Hei lets a wire fly, snagging the closest outcrop of trees. With a jerk, he leaps into the air, gaining traction, rocketing forward to avoid being pelted with more rocks. In the same movement, he clicks the button on an activation device within his coat. The explosives he'd scattered throughout the area ignite -- a deafening orchestra. They're dirty bombs, low on chemicals, high on noise. A dizzying distraction, if you're unprepared for it. ]

[ And distractions are always windows of opportunity. It's what he needs to swing toward Korra -- and incapacitate her. ]

[I didn’t do that! Korra instinctively dives and rolls as suddenly the world is exploding around her. She keeps rolling, ignoring the cuts and shocks from the explosions, until she hits the water. Hei's attack just barely misses her.

She rises from the water encased in ice solid enough to stop bullets yet fluid enough to let her move unimpeded. Her eyes glow pure red, bright enough to kill.

And then she hears a familiar growl.

Damn it, Naga!]

[ Hei skids to a halt near the water's edge, just in time to see Korra dive in. The valley reverberates with the fading after-echoes of the explosives. Pebbles adhere to the damp sheen of his coat, making it look like black bedazzled leather. Blood fizzing, his chest like a bellows, Hei scans the froth-tipped surface of the river. The girl's less daredevil than she is idiotic. In this weather, the water will be freezing. In the next breath, he backs away, caught off-guard, as a shape juts from the water a few knots out. Moonlight bleeds along the girl's shape to make her appear as a drowned siren slicing up out of the surf -- mystic and fire-eyed and fierce. ]

[ Automatically, Hei aligns his stance for the next attack. ]

[ Then a growl emerges, rumbling behind him. Whirling, he spots the dog -- Naga, she called it -- a few feet away. In that instant, Hei makes his choice. Before Korra can make her move, he surges toward the dog. Ten feet, five, two, and he's hurled a wire at Naga, catching one of its legs and bringing it down with a powerful but non-lethal electric shock. In a blink, he's crouched over the fallen animal, knee braced across its chest, a blade whipped out and upraised. ]

[ Over the sloshing river, his voice is flat. ]

Stand down.

[There's a moment's hesitation as Korra calculates the odds of her knocking the knife out of Hei's hand before he can hurt Naga. Then she stands down. Ice turns to water which returns to the river and Korra steps out of it, completely dry.]

Don't hurt her.

[It's not a plea; it's a threat. She knows she can't beat him, but it's clear he wants her alive. Korra's not so sentimental to say Kill me instead of Naga, but she won't hesitate to say Kill Naga and I'll kill myself. Her life is the only leverage she has right now; she's not afraid to use it.]

[ The Syndicate wants her alive, true. But no one said she had to stay undamaged. Besides. He has training for this. She doesn't. ]

[ When she steps out of the water, miraculously dry, Hei keeps his gaze fixed on her, his weight settled on the knee braced across Naga. It's clear by her inflection -- Don't hurt her -- that she's not capitulating. The opposite; she's angling to use herself as leverage. There's a part of him, that hotheaded risk-taker, that's tempted to call her bluff. See if she has the balls (or stupidity) to do as implied. Offing yourself to save a fucking dog ... he doesn't know anyone, human or Contractor, who'd be that shortsighted. But the other part of him, spinning webs of calculations intersected with rules of good spycraft and common sense, knows that a Contractor's pragmatism isn't something you're born with. It's learned; it's instilled; it's socialized. ]

[ This girl has been raised as just that. A semi-ordinary girl. ]

[ With that in mind, Hei makes his move. There's a rock jutting upright beside him. Hei topples it to the left -- as a distraction, to make it seem he is diving to the ground. At the same time he pivots to the right, whipping out a wire, aiming to snag Korra's leg. If it connects, he will release a blinding surge of electricity. Enough to guarantee she's out cold for several hours. ]

[Threatening to off herself for a dog -- big difference. She's certainly counting on the fact that it won't come to that.

When he moves, she doesn't go left or right -- she jumps straight up, using fire to give herself a little extra lift. Considering she hadn't made any threatening move, there was no reason for him to dive to the ground.]

I’ll go with you! [She lands hard, in a defensive stance.] Don't hurt her, and I'll go with you.

[It's really the only chance she has. She's at too much of a disadvantage here.]

[ At an angle from Korra, Hei crouches, blade upraised. His gaze is on Korra's; a thread stretches and vibrates in the air. She says I'll go with you, and there's a moment's faltering. Wondering if she's lying. Except her expression, her stance, her gaze -- everything radiates a peculiar desperation. As much for herself as for her stupid pet. It's that which makes him pause. Attachment, he thinks with a bite of contempt. How much foolishness can you hide under the cover of it? Allowances made to trample others or let yourself be trampled because -- because what? Because of a pet? Because you value something that weakens you? ]

[ An acrid flash of memory -- Pai thigh-deep in a red pool, floating bodies, spiraling stars, a sweet smile smeared with blood -- invades. Shaking it off, he regards Korra a moment more. Jigsawed thoughts click neatly into the slots of his mind. And all at once, the tension diffuses. On the surface. A breath, before he straightens, with one foot still planted over the dog. ]

All right. [ His tone changes; a sharp order. ] Get on the floor. Hands behind your head.

[Korra bites back a snarky comment -- You mean the ground? -- and obeys. She can feel her body get twitchy as the spirits demand their repayment for the power she used without paying her dues. Just a little longer, she promises them.]

What now?

[ Ground. Floor. Same difference. His English, though unaccented and idiomatic, is nonetheless rusty from years out of practice. He's learned it young enough to pick up slang and colloquialisms, but not quite young enough to eradicate that occasional clunkiness. Steps and heart rate steady, thinking Careful everything in perfect focus, he draws closer to Korra. Contrary to rumors, Contractors don't melt like the wicked witch if they can't make their payment. It's simply a compulsion, a meaningful repetition to satisfy that irrational aspect of their natures. Her twitchiness doesn't go unnoticed. But he's not about to let her fulfill her payment. She'll survive if it's delayed by a few hours. ]

[ Kneeling, he plants a knee in the middle of her back. Her arms get tightly bound behind her, crossed inward at the wrist. No way to burn through the cord this time. Not without scorching her skin with third degree burns in the process. Satisfied, he plants a widespread palm across the back of her skull. ]

Now shut up and behave. You've caused enough trouble for one night.

[ It's all the warning she gets -- before he lets off a zapping tendril of electricity. Enough to knock her out cold, until he's found another vehicle, and bundled her -- and the dog -- out of the area. The agents he fought will have back-up stationed closeby. Once they notice their squad's radio silence, they'll be swarming the forest. By which time he needs to be gone. ]

Memes // PSLs

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